When they returned to the road that led back to Westfall, The Wildfire was surprised to find William turn in the opposite direction. She quietly followed his lead, eyeing the shuffling in the shadows as beasts scuffled away from their presence.
It wasn’t long before the two reached a clearing along a creek. The road continued over an old bridge, but they turned off the road and followed the creek until it flowed alongside a small cabin.
William released her arm for only a moment to fish a small, iron key out of his pocket. He opened the lock, pushed open the door, and turned back to the woman with his hand outstretched.
Wide-eyed, The Wildfire took his hand and entered the cabin.
The one-room cabin smelled dusty and the air felt heavy and unused. William, however, made quick work of lighting an oil lamp that was hung above a table to fill the dark room with light.
“What is this?” The Wildfire finally spoke after a moment of watching William light a second lamp and open a few windows to air out the room.
“This was my father’s cabin,” he said, wiping his brow with his hand after struggling with the window in the kitchen area. He then motioned back to the kitchen. “There should be some tea in the cupboard; would you like some?”
She blinked, taking a deep breath. Her chest ached from the action, and she crossed her arms tight against her ribs. “Yes, please,” she submitted.
He nodded and went to work lighting the gas stove, and she removed her goggles and the blade from the sling on her back and set them both on the table. Curious, she slowly began to wander through the cabin. In one corner was a bookshelf, a single chair, and a small stand with one of the oil lamps flickering upon it. Behind the chair was a bed, tucked neatly into the second corner, with a pastel blue floral quilt and two pillows neatly laid upon it. A nightstand stood beside that with a third lamp that was not yet lit.
The next corner served as a washroom, sectioned off with wooden partitions that didn’t quite reach the ceiling. She stepped around one to find a claw-footed tub, a sink, a toilet, and a few shelves mounted on the partitions to hold towels and soaps.
In the last corner was a small kitchen table with two chairs, and a few cabinets on either side of a small stove. In the center of the room, with a pipe that led up to the ceiling, was a wood stove that could be used for heating the cabin.
“Not a bad little place, isn’t it? It could stand a little work and a little cleaning,” he brushed away a cobweb from inside the cabinet where he removed a box of tea, “but we’re in luck—the tea is still good!”
She smiled lightly, but her eyes drifted aside. “No one’s been here in a while,” she said offhandedly.
“You are correct,” he nodded. “My father passed away some years ago, and it’s remained vacant ever since.”
The Wildfire frowned. “I’m sorry.”
William’s expression remained peaceful. “He got to use it for a while, although I worried far more than I should have when he was out here by himself. The beasts were just starting to rear their heads, and the journey to visit was becoming more treacherous.” He motioned to a rotary phone hung on the wall. “The phone line even got cut once, and that really worried me.”
“Is that why you don’t stay here?”
“Well, there’s a number of reasons,” William leaned against the counter. “The beasts are certainly one, and being the town doctor and needing to stay accessible is another. But the biggest reason was Beth didn’t want to be out this far from town.”
“Beth?”
The silence that followed answered the question long before William was able to look up from the ground.
The Wildfire winced. “William, I’m...”
He smiled, albeit with a twinge of sadness, as he turned his eyes toward her. “It’s all right. I am at peace with her passing, but I will also be missing a piece of me until I see her again.”
She yelped as the kettle began whistling on the gas stove. Holding a hand to her chest, she watched him quickly take it off and pour the steaming water over the tea bags in each of the two cups. Immediately, the scent of brewing tea filled the room.
“Mm, chamomile,” he breathed in the steam. His light blue eyes were soon clouded behind foggy glasses, and he chuckled as he blindly tried to hand her one of the cups—garnering a smile out of the usually solemn Wildfire.
She took the cup into her hands, feeling its warmth, and the calming smell soon overtook her. Soon, her own glasses had fogged up, and her smile broke into a short laugh.
Chuckling, William walked over to the table and pulled out the chair for her before he sat down at the other across from it. “I think this may be a good time for us to talk about you,” he said carefully.
She rose out of the steam’s path, and her eyes came back into view as the fog faded. Her brows were peaked in concern.
“I may be Dr. Bauer or Preacher William,” he began, “but I’d like to talk to you as just William; a friend who’s concerned you’ve been carrying a heavy burden on your own. I know a lot of it is missing the ones you love; I can’t imagine how hard it must be knowing you’re here and have no way to reach them.”
Her brows furrowed in a combination of apprehension and surprise. Had he heard her cries for The Doctor?
“I don’t want you to feel pressured,” he looked to her with compassion, “but I would love to help you if I can, even if all we do is help you talk through what’s happened.”
She instinctively withdrew her arms against her chest. “I don’t know.”
“You’ve also made it clear you’re disappointed in something that you’ve done.”
She winced at his words and turned further away.
“I have a feeling you’re afraid to tell anyone because you’re worried we’ll be disappointed too.” He regained her gaze. “But I want you to know that you would never disappoint me.”
“Are you sure about that?” She offered coldly.
“Positive.”
She looked into her cup, watching the color swirl from the tea bag as the water darkened with its flavor. “You won’t tell anyone?” She whispered.
“This will be between the two of us.”
She took a deep breath through her nose, her lips tight. If there was anyone in Westfall she could trust, it would be William; still, it was difficult to articulate what she had witnessed—and what she had done. “I don’t know how to start.”
“What got you upset today? Specifically?”
Her breath was still being released as William crossed his arms on the tabletop. “Just... everything,” she huffed and looked at her own hands. “I read what you told me, but it just made me feel more guilty. Then Hudson said the house is ready for me, but that reminded me that I’m stuck here now, and I don’t want to be. Then Carla is engaged, and it made me upset because I could have had that if I hadn’t run away from...” She grit her teeth, already feeling the sting of tears in her eyes. “It’s my fault I’m not with him now. I should have never run.”
“Tell me his name,” William distracted her from her tangent.
She paused, as if it was difficult to process the question. “The Doctor.”
“Doctor?”
“That’s his name,” she said, beginning to tremble. She could see him in her mind, smiling at her with his toothy grin and blue-green eyes under his floppy hair. She could hear his voice and feel his warmth. She could see him, with his head in her lap, as she sang a song that rose into her mind.
Nights in white satin...
Her lips puckered. “I loved him.”
“I’m so sorry you were separated, and I can understand why these things today upset you. And this is why I’d like to talk to you, so I can better understand how to help.”
“I can’t be helped,” she grumbled.
He chose to overlook her sentiment. “Can you tell me why you ran away from him?”
She huffed out a breath, wrapping her hands around the warm cup. “I... I was human once. But I was given the power of a Time Lord; it was unpredictable, and it scared me. I didn’t want to hurt anyone, especially not him... so I ran away. But that just made it easier for me to be captured by people who wanted to use me, and the power.” She scowled. “And they changed me the rest of the way, taking away everything that once was human.”
“Your two hearts,” William pondered as he held his teacup. “That was from them?”
She nodded somewhat sorrowfully. “They broke me down. They trained me to kill. They sent me on missions and made me do things I didn’t want to do.”
He nodded slowly, maintaining eye contact despite hers wandering across the table.
“I tried to fight back, but it didn’t matter. I’d get punished if I didn’t do what they said, so I stopped trying.” She swallowed, noticing the lump in her throat. “But... but then...”
He watched her grow distressed, shutting her eyes tight and hunching over. “Take a sip of tea,” he coaxed gently.
She scowled back at the cup. Lifting it with both hands, she brought the cup to her lips. The warmth filled her chest and spread across her body. Her eyes again closed, but they were no longer scrunched as tightly.
“He started to get close to me,” she said calmly. “He started to make me feel uncomfortable. He’d grab me or hold me, and I didn’t want that.”
William frowned. “When I saw you react to Thomas threatening you—I had a bad feeling...”
“He had complete control over me, and he forced me to...” She got caught on the remainder of her words, shuddering. “I couldn’t move, couldn’t stop him. Couldn’t do anything...” her voice was scarcely a whisper.
This time William’s eyes shut as his strength left him. He knew what she was insinuating. He shook his head and reached across the table, but she tucked her hands against her waist and shifted in the chair.
“I had rigged an escape plan, but I had always talked myself out of using it. But when that happened... I felt it was them or me. It was my life or...” Her sentence ended in a sigh. “I got out on the escape pod and blew up their space station. I killed everyone, even the people there who had no idea who I was.” Her solemn voice broke with a sob. “And every single day I regret what I’ve done.”
William slid out from the chair and knelt beside The Wildfire as she bowed into a mournful cry. Her body shook with every breath and shuddered with every sob. He held her firmly as her body slumped against his, her hand covering her face in shame.
“I am so, so sorry,” his voice was heavy with empathy.
“I shouldn’t have done it—no matter what I felt, it wasn’t worth killing everyone,” she huffed through sobs. “Or—better yet—I should have just let him kill me!!”
“Hey,” he shook his head, patting her shoulder. “As far as I can tell, you’ve been given a second chance.”
She managed to turn her eyes up to meet his, glaring incredulously.
“God can work wonders in anyone’s life; he may not have wanted this for you, but he will use your strength on the other side of these struggles for good.”
“How could God ever forgive what I’ve done,” she moaned.
“That’s the beauty of it,” William smiled lightly. “None of us deserve his mercy and forgiveness. But if we trust in him, and follow him, we can be cleansed.”
He straightened as he quoted, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord.”
She sniffed and wiped her face with her arm, her eyes again losing their focus.
“He always sees you, and he will always be found if you seek him. You are not forgotten to God.”
She huffed out another sob and took off her glasses to wipe her eyes.
He touched the sonic blade that sat on the table. “It’s been a struggle, but look at all you’ve been able to do for our town. You are protecting us.” He slipped his arm from her back and took one of her hands. “You are saving lives, now.”
Her lips puckered, looking at his hand.
“You are very strong. It took a lot of courage to tell me this. And I am not disappointed in you—only very proud of your strength.”
The Wildfire remained silent as she breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly. Her chest ached, her eyes hurt, but for the first time since she had landed on Westfall, the weight upon her conscience seemed lighter. She straightened in the chair and met William’s eyes. “Thank you,” she muttered softly.
“Of course.” He nodded to her before getting back to his feet and returning to his chair.
She lifted her cup with both hands, feeling the warmth in her fingertips. “William, can you,” she hesitated, “teach me more about God?”
His smile warmed, meeting her yearning eyes. “Absolutely.”
- - -
“Please work, please work,” William chanted as he scrolled through the numbers on the rotary phone. Sure enough, a familiar click and buzz of the call reaching its destination met his ears, and soon, a young woman’s voice followed.
“Westfall Hospital,” Lillith answered sleepily.
“Lillith!” He glanced behind at the bed where The Wildfire had fallen asleep and lowered his voice. “It’s William!”
“Where are you?” Her confusion was apparent even over the phone.
“I’m at Dad’s cabin,” he shielded his mouth against the phone’s mouthpiece. “I’ll have to stay overnight.”
“Did you find her?”
“I did. She’s safe, and she’s resting now, and I don’t want to wake her.” He frowned, looking out into the dark woods through the window. “Will you be all right staying there? I can call Mrs. Richardson—”
“I’m fine here. Don’t worry about us.” She paused. “I’m glad she’s safe.”
William smiled. “I am too.”
“Not to mention, you,” she added. “Thanks for calling.”
“Thanks for being there.”
“Good night, Will.”
“Good night.”
He hung up the phone and turned toward The Wildfire. She had laid across the bed, assumingly for only a moment, while William had cleaned up the teacups and kettle. When he turned back into the room, she had fallen fast asleep. Her brows were not clenched in worry, and her breathing was deep and steady. He hoped this would be a better night’s sleep for her now that she had begun to open up.
He sighed as he put out the kitchen light and retreated to the sitting room chair. He propped his feet up on the ottoman and leaned back as much as he could. He, too, was worn out in many ways; physically from rushing through the forest to find her, and mentally from hearing just what had happened to the nameless girl. But, at the same time, he felt progress had been made, and that alone gave him hope.
He turned and put out the lamp on the stand beside him and shut his eyes to rest.
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Chapter Notes